NFL 2014

[Mo Noyz]

IMO last night's game pointed out the miniscule difference between teams considered to be really good and bad.

C'mon...

Although I guess if you stress "considered", then I'm with you.

[Jason Bivins]

[Captain Hate]

Let's check in with the experts: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc- ... -redskins/

[The G Man]

IMO last night's game pointed out the miniscule difference between teams considered to be really good and bad.

That's a large generalization from one game. I think Washington was considered to be very bad but Dallas wasn't considered to be very good; they surprised everybody with their hot start.

The NFC doesn't appear to have a dominant team, based on Seattle and SF sliding this year.

Denver is clearly the best team in the AFC right now and NE and Indy are in tier two.

[walto]

Let's check in with the experts: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc- ... -redskins/

Love when shit like that happens.

[walto]

I used to be a huge Stockton fan when he did the NBA but he should've retired at least a decade ago. He gets almost everything wrong on the field and you need a fucking roster to know who he's talking about.

Never liked him. I mean, he seemed like a nice guy and all that, but he always seemed to me like he was simultaneously receiving messages from Neptune.

[Mo Noyz]

IMO last night's game pointed out the miniscule difference between teams considered to be really good and bad.

That's a large generalization from one game. I think Washington was considered to be very bad but Dallas wasn't considered to be very good; they surprised everybody with their hot start.

The NFC doesn't appear to have a dominant team, based on Seattle and SF sliding this year.

Denver is clearly the best team in the AFC right now and NE and Indy are in tier two.

You know, I'd love to come in here and say, "Gordo, what the fuck are you talking about?!"

But, you're absolutely correct in your assessment. Dallas is a house of cards that have had their season look respectable so far because of the workload Murray has been able to carry. But, as history has shown, that won't last forever. And once their curiously scrappy, but still not very good defense has to spend more time on the field, things WILL get ugly. You likely won't agree with me on this, but I think the four NFC East teams are pretty much the same talent-wise. Washington isn't as bad as most think, Dallas should settle in for this crash to earth, I don't believe in the Eagles AT ALL, and the Giants are good enough to win the division, but will likely try to give it away for the rest of the season. It's a really bizarre division in what has become a really bizarre, and hard to read, league.

That said, Denver isn't just the best team in the AFC, they're the best team, period. Their defense improved even more than advertised, IMO. Von Miller has turned back into Von Miller, and the rest of the defense is following his lead. I swore it wouldn't turn out that way, but I've been dead wrong on that prediction so far.

And let the snickering begin, I really like Buffalo. A lot. That defense is legit, and Orton is just competent enough to take them into the playoffs. Their Achilles heel is the RB situation, but if Jackson can come back and stay healthy...

I thought the Chargers would be really dangerous this year, but I have to say that I've been rather unimpressed with them so far.

As you say, their is no clear-cut leader in the NFC. I don't believe in Detroit, no matter where their defense is ranked, nor how quickly Megatron comes back. The South is a fucking disaster right now, and whoever comes out of the East will be nothing more than a bit player in the post season.

I didn't believe in Arizona coming into the season considering the enormous losses they suffered on defense. But, I now have to change that to I "can't" believe Arizona. How in the hell they've done what they have so far is mind-boggling. But right now, if I had to pick the class of the NFC, they'd have to be it. Unreal...

[Captain Hate]

I think both of you are jumping the gun. Over the last 5 years or more, the season, with two bye weeks, has it's own weird dynamic where teams that look like crap in October and November can catch fire coming into the playoffs and just run the table. For example, even though Seattle looked good all of last season imo, they still have plenty of time to correct whatever is currently causing them to underperform and end up on top again. I like Denver and would be quite happy with them being the last dog standing but they could fall short again like last season. It's way too early to seed the playoffs.

I really really like the Cards too; I wouldn't mind jumping on their bandwagon if Carson Palmer becomes Kurt Warner v2.0.

[Mo Noyz]

I don't think either of us are jumping the gun. Just commenting on what we've observed so far.

And I'm certainly not seeding the playoffs halfway through the season.

Go back and read my preseason Top-To-Bottom Ten if you want to see just how impotent my predictive powers are.

[Mo Noyz]

Wait a minute! Two bye weeks?!

Did they slip that shit back into the mix without my knowledge?!

[Captain Hate]

IMO last night's game pointed out the miniscule difference between teams considered to be really good and bad.

That's a large generalization from one game..

It wasn't just one game. Last weekend I saw the Browns (admittedly a middle of the pack team) just get dominated by a then winless Jacksonville in every aspect of the game. The same Browns team that abused Pittsburgh the week before, after which the Stoolers went crazy on the Colts. In all of those games except the Redskins, the home team won.

I wasn't overreacting to the Cowboys but lots of other people on the internet were putting them in the Super Bowl after what they did to Seattle. The Redskins lost much more convincingly to the Giants than they did to Seattle.

I fucked up; only one bye week.

[Mo Noyz]

C'mon, Cappz.

The "any given Sunday" rule has been in effect longer than both of us have been alive. Combined!

Do we really have to go down the "if Team A beats Team B, and Team B beats Team C" road here?

[Captain Hate]

That wasn't my intention but it seems like the weekly variances are more severe this season than before. Or maybe I'm just noticing them more because this is the first time in a long while that Cleveland football is still relevant in late October. Admittedly I get pleasure out of watching other teams as well, which I hope my comments here reveal, but it just seems more pronounced to me this season.

Or I could be completely full of shit...

[jon abbey]

my impression is that the league is overall more predictable this year than in most other recent years, and there are fewer surprises. I don't see numbers on a quick internet scan, but I'd guess that more favorites have won so far this season than in previous seasons (ignoring the spread).

[Mo Noyz]

OK Cappz, stepping back and taking in your greater point, I see what you're saying, and agree. You just presented it in a semi-confusing fashion. (had to factor in some obvious homerism which muddied the waters)

But, you're absolutely correct as far as the "variance" argument is concerned. What more proof is needed than taking into account how many times I've used the word "bizarre" to describe this season? And as recently as today!

We all know from having followed this game for far more years than should be considered legally sane that usually within the 4-6 week window we have a pretty good idea who is good, and who is bad. With historic evidence that there is at least one team lurking in the shadows that could potential stand the entire league on its' head.

That said, we're WAY past that point with 8 weeks in the books. And right now it' just as confusing as it was in week 2. There are less than a handful of standout teams, and less than a handful of pathetic teams.

This be, my compadres, the parody that He Who Shall Not Be Named (best not to speak ill of the dead) fought tooth and nail for.

Oh, did I say parody? My bad...

Thanks, Reggie!

Time to end this post before I really fly off into the stratosphere...

[walto]

Or maybe I'm just noticing them more because this is the first time in a long while that Cleveland football is still relevant in late October.

FWIW, I heard part of a Cleveland Orchestra broadcast in the car last night, and they were smoking. I don't even know who the conductor is now, but it was definitely the best 'Art of the Fugue' performance I've ever heard. And now you got LeBron.

Happy days are here again, Cap.

[Captain Hate]

FWIW, I heard part of a Cleveland Orchestra broadcast in the car last night, and they were smoking. I don't even know who the conductor is now

Franz Welser-Most. I had to look it up since I hadn't kept up since Dohnanyi was the music director. Good to know it's in good hands since Maazel lost the respect of a lot of the musicians.

[The G Man]

Favorites are 51% against the spread and 66% straight up in 2014.

Scott, after watching the Giants give away the game to AZ in week two I was insistent that the Cards weren't very good. I am as shocked as you are, maybe more so that they are leading their division.

[jon abbey]

Favorites are 51% against the spread and 66% straight up in 2014.

if it's easy to find the straight up numbers from the previous few seasons, I'd love to see those too.

[The G Man]

Favorites are 51% against the spread and 66% straight up in 2014.

if it's easy to find the straight up numbers from the previous few seasons, I'd love to see those too.

Favorites won 71% of the time in 2013, 65% in 2012, 67% from 2003-2014.